We
have to build a cohesive America, where no American has
to live in anxieties, discomfort of fear of the other.
We cannot let the issues of the day pit one American
against the other.
9
Civic & Political
BlogsPLURALISM

Our mission is to encourage individuals to develop an open mind
and an open heart toward their fellow beings. If we can learn to
respect the otherness of other and accept the genetic
uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and
solutions emerge.
2
Pluralism
Sites &
10
BlogISLAM

To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to
mitigate conflicts
and nurtures goodwill for peaceful
co-existence of humanity.Mission

Mike
consciously chooses his words and actions to
reduce conflicts and nurture goodwill amongst people
of different
affiliations. He walks the middle path and gets to work with the
right wingers as well as the ultra-left. His work for peace and
co-existence is reflected through the workshops, radio shows,
speeches, discussion forums and writings.

Currently Mike manages real properties and business
consulting (2006-Now).

In different
Managerial capacities, Mike has successfully managed
subdivisions of Home building companies from ground
breaking to building and moving families into the
neighborhoods. Ryland Homes (1984-86); Grand Homes
(1997-98); Drees Custom Homes (1998-2001); Bluffview
Builders (2004-2005). Has won many awards including
community Manger of the year at Ryland (1985) and
Top three with Grand Homes (1998) and the # 1 Market
Manager at Drees (1999) Custom Homes.

As Vice President
of Lewis Fire Protection, Mike was responsible for
successfully turning around the ailing company into
a profitable one. Lewis fire was one of the largest
Fire protection companies in Dallas (1981-83).

As Deputy
Controller of Finance, Mike was responsible for the
financial operations of Fluor Arabia in Dhahran, a
subsidy of Fluor Corp developing Natural Gas
gathering & Liquefaction plants in Saudi Arabia.
Supervised over 120 employees and managed 5
satellite projects with a $5.1 Billion budget. It
was one of the largest NGL facilities in the world
at that time (1977-80) and Fluor was the largest
Engineering Company.

His
father M. Abdul Rahman's inherent disposition to treat people with
dignity has influenced him a great deal. He was India's freedom
fighter and the Mayor of the Town of Yelahanka [1952-53]. He taught
the pluralism embedded in every religion and cited a verse from Quraan more often than any other thing he taught, his favorite
reading was on gratitude, Sura Rahman from Quraan and it is Mike's
favorite too.

His Mother Khairun Nisa was
a pluralist in every
aspect of life and has simply inspired him to be who he is today.
Her death in 2001 had the greatest impact on him, as she left a
large lesson of tying loose ends of life before departing the world.
Indeed she wrote a note three days prior to her death about it and
left a handwritten will for the family with perfect clarity. Mike
reached home four hours after she had passed away. He sat by her not
knowing whether to smile or to cry and finally chose to smile all
the way until after she was buried and cried when he visited her
three days later at her grave. He smiled because she led a
good example of bringing conclusions to every thing and cried
because he won't see her again.

Mike grew up enjoying and celebrating Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Parsee and
Christian Festivals. He is grateful to his parents for the
exposure he was given. "My family has come to believe that all
festivals are meant to celebrate and share the joy with the people
you know." Years later Mike produced a Radio show called "Festivals
of the World" where the essence and significance of every festival
was shared on Saturdays and it continues today with his news letter.

WHOLEHEARTEDLY

Mike says, “No matter what you do in life,
do it wholeheartedly” as it brings joy to oneself and the others
who will consume the work. "I thank God for blessing me with the
passion to do everything with my heart and soul in it. My life has
become Pluralism in general and Religious Pluralism in particular."

Mike speaks
at educational, religious
and civic organizations on Pluralism, Religious
pluralism including multiculturalism and Indian Culture.

INSPIRATION

The lives of Prophet Mohammad, Mahatma
Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Mother Theresa, Gautama Buddha, Krishna, Guru
Nanak, Martin Luther King Jr., father Abdul Rahman, mother Khairun
Nisa and maternal grand father Shaikh Hussain have profoundly
inspired Mike. President Obama is becoming a Mentor as well, as he
connects with him and his thought process.

"My kids Jeff and
Mina have
excited me with their fresh perspectives on life and God. All my
inspirers have frequently helped me see the world from another point
of view, i.e., respecting all creation and "live and let live" point
of view. My intuitive pluralism and ZERO prejudice has it's
origins in Islam, Hinduism, Jainism and Christianity, many consider
me to be a Baha'i. I was pleased to hear some one called me a Jew as
well and I have been said by people of different faiths that I
belong to them. Thanks to my father for unlocking me from a
singular cell and opening multiple windows of knowledge for me."

Mike has always cherished Abe Lincoln's
statement "with malice towards none", "practicing this gives
me peace." "A good Muslim is a good Hindu, is a good Christian, is a
good Jew and is a good human being, the truth of goodness is the
same. Reading Lincoln is my next project, as Obama is a follower of
him."

Mike has learned profound
things from his bosses and friends over the last forty years and
he always acknowledges them. Ed Nesbit, Kathy Joplin,
Mike Davis , Harbans Lal and his grade school teacher Abdul Hakim.

The ultimate in learning is when you
become Brahma, to borrow from the Hindu philosophy, whence you do
not have a barrier between you and what surrounds you. That is
precisely what Qur'aan means when it asks you to submit to the will
of God, Krishna means, surrender to him or Jesus, when he says
follow me, you cannot go wrong with their advice and the wisdom of
all other beautiful religions.

"Each one of the holy books nourishes me
in my quest for the truth. It is quite inspiring to open each
book and draw an enormous amount of wisdom from it."

Discussions with his teachers during
college days has formed the foundation for his outlook; the calm
Shia-Sunni discussions between his father and Hussain Ali, or his
grand father; and the passionate Hindu faith of A. Ramachandra, his
English teacher; the irresistible logic of Mohamed Fakhru, his
weaver friend. And interacting with wise people in Dallas has
enriched him tremendously. The open mindedness of Swami Nityananda
Prabhu of Hare Krishna Temple; the comprehensiveness of
Imam Yusuf Zia Kavacki of Dallas Central Mosque reinforces his
belief in how God is assessed and in the last few years, his
friendship with Imam Zia Shaikh is nothing but a joy.

Each one
of them is all about affection for life, non-discriminatory caring,
non-favoring one over the other for the heck of it other than good
deeds, which Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] described as the good you can
do to other beings, the goodness you bring to God's creation.

MIKE'S FAITH

"I believe, each one of us is created
by the same creative process, with a singular source [GOD] for such
creation. I believe that respecting each one of its creations
is the best form of praising, worshipping and honoring that creator.
I believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to
acceptance and appreciation of people with a different point of
view. If we can learn to accept and respect the God given
uniqueness of each one of the 6 billion of us, then conflicts fade
and solutions emerge."

"I have freed
my God from religious confinement and
believe that the divine's presence belongs to every one, and
he/she/it is everywhere. I see God's greatness in every which way
and in every place of worship. I don't like to lock up God in any
singular spot or limit him into a form.

No one owns Jesus, Krishna
or Mohamed: "Ram is not the property of Hindus, he belongs to all,
Christians don't own Jesus, and Mohammed and his message belongs to
all". I feel that none of us should bottle up the great teachers
into small cells, their teachings are universal and they belong to
all. "Don't let prejudice stop you from learning all the good you
can learn from all religious teachers”. I believe Learning about
other faiths simply enhances one’s search for the truth."

"I am a
Muslim and blessed to be one and I pray every one feels the same
about his or her individual faith. My faith connects me with my
Creator and answers the purpose of life, death, accountability and
results. The Islam I know is what the majority of Muslims
practice around the world, it is universal, all embracing and
pluralistic. I relate with every faith and see the same essence and
beauty in them as I see in Islam. I am comfortable with every
beautiful way people have come to worship the divine. We do
not have to undermine other faiths to make our faith better, faith
is beyond comparisons. Faith brings humility to oneself and not
arrogance."

"I believe
that the connection with the Creator is inversely proportional to
the ego. Greater the ego, (arrogance); lesser the connection. On the
other hand, greater the humility, greater the spirituality. I am
grateful to that the creator has helped me learn to respect and
honor all faiths, and my faith teaches me never to denigrate other
beliefs. Islam is my path and am honored to travel on it."

As beauty is
in the eyes of the beholder, Mike says "religion is in the heart of
the believer." Each faith is beautiful to the believer and we should
honor that.

"I honor cherish and respect every
which way people have come to praise and worship the almighty,
including but not limited to the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu,
Islamic, Jain, Judaism, Sikh, Wicca, Zoroastrian and several
indigenous systems of belief.
I am committed to defend the divinity of every faith with no
exception and it is in no conflict with my faith, which is Islam."

Mike's chosen path is Islam and
here he summarizes about Islam in a fewwords;

To be a
Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts
and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to
live in peace and harmony with his creation; that is indeed
the purpose of religion, any religion.

Mike
says,
“No matter what you do in life, do it
wholeheartedly.” as it brings joy to oneself and the
others who will consume the work. "I thank God for
blessing me with the passion to do everything with
my heart and soul in it. My life has become
Pluralism in general and Religious Pluralism in
particular."

One of Mike's talents is communicating precisely what needs to be done
each step of the way. Whether it is a speech to inspire one to take
action or develop iron clad will power, or to create a
smooth working environment. He will communicate that
effectively.

His thoroughness, simplicity and a calm focus
inspires peace of mind and assures a clear sense of direction for
the people who come in contact, listen or do business with him.

He is patient and sees
another point of view in finding sustainable solutions.

Mike was inspired by Ray
Bradbury "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy...
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one
that would never otherwise have occurred.… Whatever you can do
or dream that you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power,
and magic in it. Begin it now."and this "If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a
love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into
business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've
got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the
way down."

He is committed to impart
the same knowledge to others, there is a joy in doing
things wholeheartedly.OTHER PROFILES

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive
societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media
and to the public on important and complex issues of
the day and is available to speak in a variety of
settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and
places of worship, or the work place.

Mike is a frequent
guest on Fox News, (The Hannity Show), and has
been interviewed on nationally syndicated Radio
shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio
networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He is
a member of the Texas Faith panel of Dallas
Morning News and writes on issues facing the
nation every week. He has spoken at
international forums including the Council for a
Parliament of the World’s Religions, in
Melbourne, Australia, Middle East Peace
Initiative, in Jerusalem, the International
Leadership conference, in Hawaii, and in Washington

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea
of co-existence by respecting and accepting the
otherness of those different from ourselves. The
World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing
the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. Heavily involved in both, Mike Ghouse is
committed to building cohesive societies and has
produced outstanding public events to bring
Americans together of different religions,
ethnicities and races on common grounds of
building a safe and secure America.

He is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a
writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the
interfaith movement, cohesive societies, Islam,
India, hope and world peace. Over 1000 articles
of Mike’s have been published worldwide and two
books are poised to be released this summer. His
work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs
indexed at
http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring
Americans together and founded America Together Foundation
committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in
response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one
American against the other. We will be holding series of
educational programs, conferences and workshops to address
the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan,
Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and
Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7th year now,
it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the
United States of America of every faith, race,
ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our
commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing
of our nation.

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15th year
showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and
Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we
have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such
tragedies. Through this event non-Jewish people have
consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it
was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came
together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that
commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are
not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it
together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect
a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the
Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America
Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism
continues championing the idea of co-existence through
respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the
commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in
Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

Mike is a speaker,
thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects
of Pluralism, the Interfaith Movement, Cohesive
Societies, Islam, India, Hope and World Peace. Over
1000 of his articles have been published worldwide
and two books are poised to be released this summer.
His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs
indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net

To
engage Mike in a dialogue, conference or a talk,
write to
Ghousespeaks@gmail.com and email dedicated for
this purpose or you can call him on a short notice
at 214.325.1916

DETAILS

Mike is an organizer
of events, conferences, workshops and lectures to impart the
values of pluralism at work, places of worship and the society
at large, He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer and
believes that by learning to respect the otherness of others and
accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of the seven
billion of us, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

He has dedicated
his time to work with the leadership in offering insights and
solutions to effectively managing the multi-religious,
multi-ethnic, and multicultural societies.

Pluralistic solutions have the power to sustain and take us into
the next century with relative security, peace and prosperity.
We cannot have peace and security when we do injustice to
others.

ORGANIZER

Mike Presides theFoundation for Pluralismchampioning the idea of co-existence
through respecting and accepting the otherness of other; he is
committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam
through theWorld
Muslim Congress;
a board member of the Dallas
Peace Center
and
an Ambassador for peace with theUniversal
Peace Federation.
Mike was
also one of the founding board members of the Memnosyne
Foundation, as well as former commissioner at the City of
Carrollton.

INITIATOR

The following events were initiated,
organized and established with the theme of bringing diverse
people together to learn and to know about each other.

The annual
Unity Day
USA
took root in 2005,
on this Unity Day USA, we the people of the United States of
America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background
will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, Unity,
safety, prosperity and well being of our nation with liberty and
justice for all.

The Annual
Thanksgiving Celebrations began in 1993 to bring immigrant,
indigenous and born Americans together. The purpose of celebrating this event is to give thanks to the
creator for the blessings of precious life while enjoying the
cultural heritage of each ethnic group.

EDUCATOR

"Wisdom of Religion"
- all the beautiful religions of the world was an hourly Radio
talk show broadcasted daily. Over 700 hours of educational
programming was relayed learning about religious, humanistic and
the pluralistic traditions.

"Festivals of the World" was a weekly Radio program
on
Saturdays, where the essence of every festival was shared, so we
all can have an idea of how other people celebrate or
commemorate their holidays. (more on right panel)

Workshops titled
“Understanding Religion – every beautiful religion” were
conducted for two years.

Mike's purposeful presence in the
media is to foster critical thinking. He is blessed to
have been given the time on national and local TV, Radio and
Print medium to share pluralistic solutions on the issues of the
day.

MEDIA RELATIONS

Mike has appeared on
Public Television, Fox News, CNN, ABC, NBC and other channels
and has been on NPR, KERA, KRLD, WBAP, Progressive Radio and
several other Radio talk shows. The theme is for people to see
and value a moderate point of view.

MODERATOR

Mike moderates several discussion
groups numbering nearly 6,000 members, among them are the
Foundation for Pluralism, World Muslim Congress, Dallas Indians
and other groups.

Facebook has earned him nearly 4500 friends discussing issues
that face us daily.

Serving
blindly was a clarion call by his Grand father and regularly
reinforced by spiritual leaders from across the spectrum of
religions and traditions. Mike feels blessed that God has
created a speck of a space for him to fulfill that mission.

He was involved in the cause of
persecuted
in
Japan,
spoke out against the destruction of a
Church in Jakarta;
a ban on
Hindu festival in Italy;
desecration of a
Hindu temple in Malaysia,
Moscow,
Trinidad,
Lahore
and other places. Spoke out against the suffrage of the Kashmiri
Pundits, the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, the burning of
Hindus in Godhra, burning of Godhra and rape of Nuns in India.
The forced conversions of Hindu in Pakistan and the harassment
of Dalits and Christians in India. Please note these are the
representative items and by all means not all. Mike also joins
with
NativeAmericans
in their quest for a
Heritage day
to celebrate their contribution to America.

He feels blessed to have the ability to touch every one of the
human beings and partnering with each of the religious
traditions, He has done a Radio Program on each on every one,
each one at least 25 times and few over 100 times and has
presented workshops on each one of them. In six Unity day
events, three Holocaust and Genocide event and over ten
thanksgiving celebrations and host of other events, he has
painstakingly brought every one together. Links will be added

Atheists - Inclusive

Bahais - Iran,

Buddhist - Burma,

Christians - Indonesia, India,

Hindu
- Moscow, Trinidad, Kuala Lumpur,

Jain
- Dept,

Jew -
Iran, Dallas, DC, Texas

Muslim - France, England, India, America

Pagans - Saudi Arabia

Sikhs
- Afghanistan, Pakistan, France,

Wicca
- Arlington, Unity Day

Zoroastrian - Farvahar, Iran,

ON
CREATION AND RELIGION

that
something caused our existence; those who are religiously
oriented, generally call that causer the God, and others simply
call it the logic of creation.

that
regardless of evolution, creation or the big bang theory, we
exist and that is a fact;

that
universe is broadly composed of life and matter;

that matter was created with a built-in balance-seeking
mechanism, while humans (life) were created (caused) with the
capacity to think and bestowed with a free will to find their
own balance and harmony;

that there is accountability for everything we do, every
transaction of life has a giver and a receiver ultimately ending
in a balance. If the balance is not witnessed in one's life
time, religiously oriented people believe the creator God will
make it happen in the imaginary here after or will happen with
the idea of reincarnation. Remember humans seek balance.

that the creator loves his (her or its) creation just like the
mother loves her children and has guided the creation through
peace makers, prophets and the messengers to guide tem to
co-exist in harmony.

that the causer, creator, sustainer is not definable, not
imaginable and not reducible to definitive entity as it is
different for each one of us. Diversity in nature and human life
was intentional, among humanoids we have accepted 7 billion
unique thumb prints, unique DNA and it is time we honor the
uniqueness of beliefs as well.

Mike states
that the purpose of religion is to bring spiritual balance to one
and balance with what surrounds him or her. A good Hindu is a good
Muslim and a good Muslim is a good Jew, a good Atheist is a good
Christian... the bottom line of religion is to facilitate
co-existence and harmony.

That the
purpose of all faiths is to spiritually connect the humans with the
divine, simply meaning understanding existence, the beginning and
the end and be in tune with the universal energy. This brings peace
of mind [release from misery] to the individuals and order in the
society.

He
strongly support the goodness of each Religion. The political
motivations have deliberately ascribed the wrongs of the world to
religions, it is his commitment to identify the individuals
responsible for it and uphold honor of each faith.

"To be
religious is to be a peace maker, one who mitigates conflicts and
nurtures goodwill."

HIS FAITH

"I believe, each one of us is created
by the same creative process, with a singular source [GOD] for such
creation. I believe that respecting each one of its creations
is the best form of praising, worshipping and honoring that creator.
I believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to
acceptance and appreciation of people with a different point of
view. If we can learn to accept and respect the God given
uniqueness to each one of the 6 billion of us, then conflicts fade
and solutions emerge."

"I have freed
my God from religious confinement and
believe that the divine's presence belongs to every one, and
he/she/it is everywhere. I see God's greatness in every which way
and in every place of worship. I don't like to lock up God in any
singular spot or limit him into a form. No one owns Jesus, Krishna
or Mohamed: "Ram is not the property of Hindu's, he belongs to all,
Christians don't own Jesus, and Mohammed and his message belongs to
all". I feel that none of us should bottle up the great teachers
into small cells, their teachings are universal and they belong to
all. "Don't let prejudice stop you from learning all the good you
can learn from all religious teachers”. I believe Learning about
other faiths simply enhances one’s search for the truth."

"I am a
Muslim and blessed to be one and I pray every one feels the same
about his or her individual faith. My faith connects me with my
Creator and answers the purpose of life, death, accountability and
results. The Islam I know is what the majority of Muslims
practice around the world, it is universal, all embracing and
pluralistic. I relate with every faith and see the same essence and
beauty in them as I see in Islam. I am comfortable with every
beautiful way people have come to worship the divine. We do
not have to undermine other faiths to make our faith better, faith
is beyond comparisons. Faith brings humility to oneself and not
arrogance."

"I believe
that the connection with the Creator is inversely proportional to
the ego. Greater the ego, (arrogance); lesser the connection. On the
other hand, greater the humility, greater the spirituality. I am
grateful to that the creator has helped me learn to respect and
honor all faiths, and my faith teaches me never to denigrate other
beliefs. Islam is my path and am honored to travel on it."

As beauty is
in they eyes of the beholder, Mike says "religion is in the heart of
the believer." Each faith is beautiful to the believer and we should
honor that.

To be a
Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts
and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to
live in peace and harmony with his creation; that is indeed
the purpose of religion, any religion.

"I honor cherish and respect every
which way people have come to praise and worship the almighty,
including but not limited to the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu,
Islamic, Jain, Judaism, Sikh, Wicca, Zoroastrian and several
indigenous systems of belief.
I am committed to defend the divinity of every faith with no
exception and it is in no conflict with my faith, which is Islam."

Mike's chosen path is Islam and
here he summarizes about Islam in a few pages:

WISDOM OF RELIGION - RADIO PROGRAM
(2004-06)

Learn the
wisdom of all the beautiful religions of the World. It is
broadcasted on weekdays at 6:00 AM on AM Radio 1150 KBIS in
Dallas/Fort Worth and world wide you can log onto www.RadioSuno.com.

The Program
will celebrate its' first anniversary at the end of July 2004. This
program was however commenced in August of 1995 in 15 minutes
segments on the Saturdays. Now we will be completing one full year
with one hour program each. In this period of time we have done 52
Hours of Each - Christianity, Hinduism and Islam = 156 Hours & 12
Hours each of Baha'i, Buddhist, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroaster and
interfaith = 7 x 12 = 84 Hours + 9 Hours of general conversation.
I.e., a total of 259 Hours of wisdom of Religion. I missed 1 hour in
the entire year.

His
father M. Abdul Rahman's inherent disposition to treat people with
dignity has influenced him a great deal. He was India's freedom
fighter and the Mayor of the Town of Yelahanka [1952-53]. He taught
the pluralism embedded in every religion and citied a verse from
Quraan more often than any other thing he taught, his favorite
reading was on gratitude, Sura Rahman from Quraan and it is Mike's
favorite too.

His Mother Khairun Nisa was
a pluralist in every
aspect of life and has simply inspired him to be who he is today.
Her death in 2001 had the greatest impact on him, as she left a
large lesson of tying loose ends of life before departing the world.
Indeed she wrote a note three days prior to her death about it and
left a handwritten will for the family with perfect clarity. Mike
reached home four hours after she had passed away. He sat by her not
knowing whether to smile or to cry and finally chose to smile all
the way until after she was buried and cried when he visited her
three days later at her grave. He smiled because she led a
good example of bringing conclusions to every thing and cried
because he won't see her again.

Mike grew up enjoying and celebrating Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Parsee and
Christian Festivals. He is grateful to his parents for the
exposure he was given. "My family has come to believe that all
festivals are meant to celebrate and share the joy with the people
you know." Years later Mike produced a Radio show called "Festivals
of the World" where the essence and significance of every festival
was shared on Saturdays and continues today with his news letter.

Wholeheartedly

Mike
says,
“No matter what you do in life, do it wholeheartedly.”
as it brings joy to oneself and the others who will
consume the work. "I thank God for blessing me with the
passion to do everything with my heart and soul in it.
My life has become Pluralism in general and Religious
Pluralism in particular."

Mike speaks
on at educational, religious
and civic organization on Pluralism, Religious
pluralism including multiculturalism and Indian Culture”

INSPIRATION

The lives of Prophet Mohammad, Mahatma
Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Mother Theresa, Gautama Buddha, Krishna, Guru
Nanak, Martin Luther King Jr., father Abdul Rahman, mother Khairun
Nisa and maternal grand father Shaikh Hussain have profoundly
inspired Mike. President Obama is becoming a Mentor as well, as he
connects with him and his thought process.

"My kids Jeff and Jazzie have
excited me with their fresh perspectives on life and God. All my
inspirers have frequently helped me see the world from another point
of view, i.e., respecting all creation and "live and let live" point
of view. My intuitive pluralism and ZERO prejudice has it's
origins in Islam, Hinduism, Jainism and Christianity, many consider
me to be a Baha'i. I was pleased to hear some one called me a Jew as
well and I have been said by people of different faiths that I
belong to them. Thanks to my father for unlocking me from a
singular cell and opening multiple windows of knowledge for me."

Mike has always cherished Abe Lincoln's
statement "with malice towards none", "practicing this gives
me peace." "A good Muslim is a good Hindu, is a good Christian, is a
good Jew and is a good human being, the truth of goodness is the
same. Reading Lincoln is my next project, as Obama is a follower of
him."

Personally I have learned profound
things from my bosses and friends over the last forty years and
I would always acknowledge them. Ed Nesbit, Kathy Joplin,
Mike Davis and my teacher Abdul Hakim.

The ultimate in learning is when you
become Brahma, to borrow from the Hindu philosophy, whence you do
not have a barrier between you and what surrounds you. That is
precisely what Qur'aan means when it asks you to submit to the will
of God, Krishna means, surrender to him or Jesus, when he says
follow me, you cannot go wrong with their advice and the wisdom of
all other beautiful religions.

"Each one of the holy books nourish me
in my quest for the truth. It is quite inspiring to open each
book and draw an enormous amount of wisdom from it."

Discussions with his teachers during
college days has formed the foundation for his outlook; the calm
Shia-Sunni discussions between his father and Hussain Ali, or his
grand father; and the passionate Hindu faith of A. Ramachandra, his
English teacher; the irresistible logic of Mohamed Fakhru, his
weaver friend. And interacting with wise people in Dallas has
enriched him tremendously. The open mindedness of Swami Nityananda
Prabhu of Hare Krishna Temple; the comprehensiveness of
Imam Yusuf Zia Kavacki of Dallas Central Mosque reinforces his
belief in how God is assessed and in the last few years, his
friendship with Imam Zia Shaikh is nothing but a joy.

Each one
of them is all about affection for life, Non-discriminatory caring,
non-favoring one over the other for the heck of it other than good
deeds, which Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] described as the good you can
do to other beings, the goodness you bring to God's creation.

CRICKET

The "Annual Cricket Tournament- the Mike Ghouse Gold Cup" was
established in 1996, which has paved the way to year-round cricket.
Mayor Kirk declared Dallas as "The Cricket City of America". Mike
was instrumental in putting Dallas on the World Cricket Map and has
a dream of bringing an International cricket game to Dallas before
2005. Mayor Evan's Proclamation.

Mike and his
leadership brought the prestigious international award for the "Best
Overall Cricket Development in America's" by the International
Cricket Council.

Professional
continuing education programs of no match in the nation. Over 3rd of
our players are certified umpires, a record in the sports leagues.

Proclamation
by Hon. Mayor Pat Evans of Plano on June 18, 2004 - Plano as Cricket
City of America

Under his
leadership NTCA hosted the first East-West USA conference - Hosted
Under 15 Trials in the US